lectin

American

[lek-tin] / ˈlɛk tɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

any of a group of proteins that bind to particular carbohydrates in the manner of an antibody and are commonly extracted from plants for use as an agglutinin, as in clumping red blood cells for blood typing.

lectin British

/ ˈlɛktɪn /

noun

a type of protein possessing high affinity for a specific sugar; lectins are often highly toxic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lectin

1954; < Latin lēct ( us ), past participle of legere to gather, select, read + -in ²

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

lectin

To do this in a targeted way, they built multifunctional molecules called AbLecs that pair a lectin with an antibody that homes in on tumors.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 23, 2025

When sialic acids attach to lectin receptors on immune cells, they can switch on an immune dampening pathway.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 23, 2025

Kidney beans contain a protein called lectin that can lead to nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if they're consumed raw or undercooked.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2022

And the lectin, derived from the jack-bean plant, was toxic.

From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2014

Suddenly, he realized, there was no need to add the plant-based lectin in order for the drug to work.

From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2014

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023